Posted on by Nascar

MORE: Hendrick teammates react to Kahne news

Kasey Kahne will be out of his Hendrick Motorsports ride at the end of 2017, but that doesn’t mean the Enumclaw, Washington, native will no longer be affiliated with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series organization.

Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick said Wednesday that he is working with Kahne to possibly secure a ride for the 37-year-old for the 2018 season. That ride could have an affiliation with HMS through a possible technical alliance.

The organization announced Monday that Kahne, whose contract was scheduled to end after the ’18 season, would not return to drive the group’s No. 5 Chevrolet next year.

It announced Wednesday that NASCAR XFINITY Series competitor William Byron will replace Kahne.

MORE: Kahne out at Hendrick | Byron in

“I have an obligation to Kasey so I’m paying two drivers next year and I’m also trying to help Kasey in another situation that we could be involved with helping another team,” Hendrick said Wednesday during a teleconference.

“I’m not going to mention the team but I know there are several situations … kind of an alliance, which would be good for everyone. We’re working on it, we’ve been working on it and we’ll just see how it develops.”

In addition to Kahne and the No. 5 entry, HMS fields three other Monster Energy Series teams with drivers Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time series champion, the sport’s most popular driver in Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Chase Elliott, son of NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and 1988 series champ Bill Elliott.

Earnhardt is retiring from Monster Energy Series competition at the end of ’17 and will be replaced by Alex Bowman in the group’s No. 88.

The organization has had technical alliances in the past, most notably with Stewart-Haas Racing before that organization left Chevrolet to begin fielding Ford entries this season.

Such technical relationships often involve supplying various parts and pieces such as chassis and/or engines, as well as technical information to another group.

Kahne is an 18-time winner in the Monster Energy Series and his victory last month in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis earned him a spot in this year’s playoffs.

He has 490 career starts entering Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR), and has been at HMS since 2012.

Hendrick said every effort was made to secure funding that would allow Kahne to remain in the No. 5 for 2018.

“We talked to people, we got close to some deals, we had some deals that drug out too long and it wasn’t fair to Kasey or me,” Hendrick said. “Kasey and I talked constantly about having a deadline and having something done.

“But when William is running like William is running — for me I don’t do this for the money, I do this to win and it’s our brand. I’m investing in the future all the time.

“I signed William with no sponsors and was going to run him regardless. That’s been the plan with Chase (Elliott), with William, with Jeff Gordon; that’s been the history of our company.”

Byron, a former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion, won seven races in his only full season in the Camping World Truck Series and currently has three wins in his first full XFINITY Series season. He drives for JR Motorsports, which is co-owned by Hendrick, Earnhardt Jr., and Kelley Earnhardt Miller.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Watkins Glen results | Mid-Ohio entry list

A pair of crew chiefs have been suspended, stemming from penalties incurred at this past weekend’s XFINITY Series race, the Zippo 200 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.

No. 9 crew chief Dave Elenz and No. 28 crew chief Steven Lane were suspended one and three races, respectively. In addition, the No. 28 car chief Rick Markle was suspended three races.

Both penalties came from post-race inspection; the No. 9 failed post-race rear body inspection heights making the 10th-place finish of driver William Byron encumbered as part of L1-level penalty. Elenz was also fined $10,000 and the team assessed a loss of 10 driver and 10 owner points. The No. 28 failed overall vehicle weight.

“After communicating with NASCAR on the penalty incurred by the No. 9 team following last weekend’s race at Watkins Glen, we recognize and accept it,” said Kelley Earnhardt Miller, general manager of JR Motorsports. “The team will move on to Mid-Ohio this weekend with engineer Brandon McSwain serving as interim crew chief for William Byron and the No. 9 Axalta team. Director of Competition Ryan Pemberton will help call the race from pit road on Saturday.”

The XFINITY Series races this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by @KESELOWSKI

RELATED: See the race in Michigan | Full Michigan schedule

Erik Jones recalls exactly how he felt when he saw Kyle Larson hoist his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series trophy in the air at Michigan International Speedway in 2016.

Jealous, he said.

“I was like, ‘Man that would be really cool,’” Jones, a native of Byron, Michigan, told NASCAR.com on Tuesday. “With as many people that are coming out to the race and they’re going to be watching in the stands and in the pits. And then to be able to go back that night and just see my family and hang out with them and celebrate the win with family and friends would be even more special.”

The 21-year-old driver is spending the week leading up to Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN) at the house he grew up in following his 10th-place run at Watkins Glen International. Every year he has family and friends come out to the Irish Hills track to watch him in what is likely the only race they’ll make it to that season.

To earn his first premier series win there would be “really special,” he said.

“I’ve always been pretty proud to be from Michigan and always kind of hold that high … It’s definitely the storybook first win that you try to write up in your head and it would definitely be cool to see it play out.”

That “storybook” win could happen this weekend, as the Rookie of the Year contender is still searching for his first victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He has already seen some success in his freshman campaign, nabbing six top-10s in the last 11 races. He finished 13th at the Irish Hills track in June.

A willingness to gamble also bodes well for his odds; Jones currently sits 20th in the playoff standings, 160 points from the final spot, with four races remaining until the 16-car playoffs begins. As the points play out, he essentially needs to win to make a run for the championship.

“We’re not racing for top-10s anymore – we’re racing to just to try to snag a win,” Jones said. “That’s the only thing that really means anything to us at this point in the season … That was a big goal to make the playoffs, so we’re trying to get in position.”

This weekend will also present an extra challenge for the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing driver, as it marks his second week without his crew chief Chris Gayle, who is serving a two-race suspension for an L1 penalty earned at Pocono Raceway on July 30.

RELATED: No. 77 team receives L1 penalty

“It’s very different,” Jones acknowledged. “I’ve worked with Chis all year now and we have a pretty good relationship and our communication has really been getting good in the past couple months. I think Chris is really understanding what I need out of the race car when I say what it’s doing and (can) really interpret how I’m coming across and what I’m trying to say. When you lose that and you kind of have to start over with another crew chief, it just reverses that whole process and you have to start over again. That makes it a little tough …

“Michigan will definitely be, I think, a bigger challenge for us.”

This isn’t the first time Jones has been tested in his career; just over four years ago, he made his first NASCAR start in the Camping World Truck Series. In 2014, he ran his first XFINITY race — and then won the Truck Series championship and made his first premier series race the very next season. In four years, he’s earned an eyebrow-raising 15 wins across the Camping World Truck and XFINITY Series.

His rise through the racing ranks has been fast, especially as he prepares to step into the storied No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing ride next season, a car piloted by Tony Stewart, Joey Logano and most recently, Matt Kenseth.

“I’m really happy with it right now,” Jones said on his budding career. “It couldn’t be much better as a young driver coming in and obviously I’m in really good equipment this year with Furniture Row and the 77 and I’ll be in really good equipment next year with the 20 car. So, I’m excited – I’m looking really forward to getting back to Joe Gibbs Racing – obviously I ran for them in XFINITY for a long time and made my first Cup start for them as well. Just cool to be going back there and back to the mothership.”

Jones is one of several young stars making a splash in the premier series pool this season. With 25-year-old Larson contending for wins weekend after weekend, 23-year-old Ryan Blaney moving into a third Team Penske car next season and William Byron, 19, taking over the No. 5 Chevrolet in 2018, the youth movement is alive and well in NASCAR.

Jones is happy to carry the load, as the sport welcomes a new wave of talented drivers.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Jones said “I think that age is coming down in NASCAR; I think you’re going to see guys retiring sooner and sooner. So you have a lot of young guys in the pipeline that are ready to move up. … We’re looking for opportunities and I think the sponsors are more attracted to a young guy coming in and want to be the face of a guy coming in that’s trying to make a name for himself. It’s just neat to see, it’s really cool to be a part of it.

“Obviously we want NASCAR to be healthy and stay around for a long time and part of that is our job,” he added. “We have to be out there and give people a reason to want to support us … (Fans) want to know a little bit more about who we are, what we do and why should somebody like me over Chase Elliott. We all are trying to figure out how to do that. It’s so different than it was 10 or 15 years ago for guys with social media and everything, the way that fans consume the sport, I think, is a total 180 from what it used to be.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s complete history at Michigan

For his final full-time season as a driver, NASCAR.com will offer an analytical preview on Dale Earnhardt Jr. ahead of every remaining Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.

Race: Pure Michigan 400

Date: Sunday, Aug. 13, 3 p.m. ET (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Previous five results at Michigan: ninth, 39th, 10th, second, fifth

Notable: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had a fair amount of success at Michigan International Speedway, where he has an average finish of 15.6. Overall, he has two wins, two poles, eight top fives and 15 top 10s in 35 starts at the track.

Memorable: One of the most memorable wins of Earnhardt Jr.’s career came at Michigan in 2012 when he broke a 143-race winless streak by crossing the start/finish line a hefty 5.393 seconds ahead of Tony Stewart. Earnhardt Jr.’s last win before the drought also came at Michigan International Speedway — on June 15, 2008. The drought between races won was the sixth-longest streak in Cup series history.

Quotable: “It’s been a struggle, but we have faced worse seasons,” Earnhardt Jr. said in a release. “We can’t wait to be back to work at Michigan. It’s typically a really good track for us.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Byron to drive No. 5 for Hendrick | Tweet shows how far Byron has come

William Byron ascension to the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for 2018 garnered plenty of reaction around the sport — most notably, from his future Hendrick teammates as well as his current teammates in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at JR Motorsports.

Here is a look at the social media reaction from Byron and his teammates to the news.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Byron to drive No. 5 for Hendrick

William Byron’s rapid rise to Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR’s top level came from humble beginnings.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Landon Cassill, a former Hendrick developmental driver himself, offered visual proof of that with a tweet that documented Byron’s commitment to getting better on iRacing six years ago.

Byron, 19, will drive the No. 5 in the Monster Energy Series beginning next season. He’s spent one full year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (seven wins) and is in his first full-time XFINITY Series season (three wins so far).

MORE: Key Silly Season players | All of Byron’s wins

He got a late start in racing, though, and honed his skills as a teenager through hours of simulation on iRacing.

We’re not sure how or why Landon decided to save the below message, but we certainly are glad he did.

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Dale Jr., teammates react | All of Byron’s national series wins

It was never a question of if William Byron would compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, only a question of when.

That question was answered Wednesday when officials with Hendrick Motorsports announced the 19-year-old would take over the organization’s No. 5 Chevrolet currently being driven by Kasey Kahne beginning in 2018.

“We see he’s got the talent; his character is unbelievable,” Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, said Wednesday. “He spends all of his time either studying or iRacing or in a simulator or in a race car. His rapid rate of success has just blown us all away.”

Byron won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East title in 2015, winning four times. The following year he won a series-best seven times in the Camping World Truck Series while driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

This year, his first in the XFINITY Series, he has three victories and is second in the points standings, trailing only JR Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler.

RELATED: Byron’s rise compared to other stars

“You look at the fact that he won all those races in the Truck Series, Rookie of the Year, youngest guy to win those kind of races and then you look at the XFINITY job he’s done this year,” Hendrick said. “Youngest winner at Indy, just how he goes to the front so quick, how he picks up on things.”

According to HMS officials, sponsorship will come from Axalta Coating Systems, a long-time associate of Hendrick Motorsports, and Liberty University, which has sponsored Byron since a 2014 Late Model effort with JRM.

“It’s been an incredible couple of years for me to sign on with Mr. H last year and Hendrick Motorsports and then to race for JRM this year and have good success with them and build that foundation there for the future,” Byron said.

“It’s been a great thing for me and I’m really ready for the future and excited to finish the rest of this year as well.”

Hendrick said he met with Byron and his father Aug. 6.

“He didn’t know why we were meeting,” Hendrick said.

“I said ‘William, are you ready? Would you like to drive in Cup next year?’

“And he said ‘I’m ready.’ I mean there was no hesitation. … To see his face and the excitement there, those are the real special moments when you can break the news.”

 

Byron will join seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott and fellow new arrival Alex Bowman at HMS for ’18. Bowman will replace Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the group’s No. 88 Chevrolet; he made 10 starts in the car in ’16 while Earnhardt was recovering from injury.

Hendrick said Johnson will help mentor the youngsters (Bowman is 24, Elliott 21 and Byron 19), but the group will also lean on four-time champ and former HMS driver Jeff Gordon as well as Earnhardt for support and guidance.

RELATED: Kahne, Hendrick to part ways | Bowman to drive No. 88 in 2018

“The main thing is just not putting too much pressure on them, let them go out and learn,” Hendrick said. “If William continues to do what he has done in every series he’s been in he’ll adapt fine. … You might as well let him learn in what he’ll be driving for years to come.”

The driver changes may or may not be the only personnel moves. But Hendrick said the focus is on the remainder of the ’17 season and any movement within the teams would be considered at a later date.

Kahne, 37, has 18 career victories in the MENCS and his win last month in the Brickyard 400 at Indy earned him a spot in the upcoming playoffs. He has 490 career starts and has been at HMS since 2012.

MORE: Tweet shows how far Byron has come | Silly Season chatter, key players

Byron said he feels he is up to the challenge of competing in NASCAR’s premier series.

“It’s the top level of racing and everything that I’ve watched as a kid, I’m starting to race against those guys,” Byron said.

“For me it’s definitely going to be intense and you’re going to have to match that intensity but I feel like I’ve got great people around me and I’ve got really a golden opportunity here at Hendrick Motorsports and it’s something as a kid I grew up aspiring to do this.”

Posted on by Pat DeCola

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is just as crazy about football as the rest of America.

Sure, he’s a 14-time National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver in NASCAR, but he’s also unofficially the Undisputed Most Rabid Celebrity Fan of the Washington Redskins.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver, set to retire from full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition at season’s end, got the chance of a lifetime to spend practice with his favorite NFL team Tuesday in conjunction with promoting the upcoming Monster Energy Series regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway.

And, well, it included this:

 


That’s Junior catching a pass from Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, being “covered” by cornerback and former Carolina Panther, Josh Norman.

Amy Earnhardt, Junior’s wife, may have summed it up best.

 

Just how giddy was Junior to be at Redskins practice? Well, he forgot to attend to at least one little detail in life.

All in all, looks like he — of course — had the time of his life.


Catch Junior in action on the track at Richmond Raceway on Sept. 9 in the Federated Auto Parts 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Wallace Jr. makes visit to Chicago

Darrell Wallace Jr. will be back on track this weekend at Michigan International Speedway, driving in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

Wallace, 23, announced on Facebook Live that he would pilot the No. 99 Chevrolet for owner Matthew Miller in the LTI Printing 200. Maestro’s Classic, a “beard butter” for facial grooming, is serving as primary sponsor befitting the bearded Bubba.

“It’s a great new company coming to the sport,” Wallace Jr. said on NASCAR’s Facebook Live. “Pretty excited about that. We’ve been working really hard on some projects and we were able to land this one with some great people involved. Pretty pumped about this one.”

MORE: Watch the Facebook Live

It’s a return to his roots, of sorts, for Wallace, who most recently filled in for the injured Aric Almirola in the iconic No. 43 Monster Energy Series Ford.

Wallace has five career wins in the Camping World Truck Series, including a four-win campaign in 2014 for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He joined Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2015, competing in 78 races with the organization through this season.

He joined Richard Petty Motorsports for four races earlier this season in place of Almirola. Those four starts netted three top-20 finishes, including an 11th-place run at Kentucky Speedway.

MORE: ‘Hopefully I made a name for myself’

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

RELATED: All Darlington throwback paint schemes

BK Racing and driver Corey LaJoie will honor Davey Allison at the Bojangles’ Southern 500 on Sept. 3 (6 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

LaJoie’s No. 23 Dr Pepper-sponsored Toyota Camry throwback for Darlington Raceway was unveiled Tuesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The scheme will mirror the red-and-white No. 23 Miller High Life car Allison drove in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (then Busch Series) in 1984 and 1985.

“I’ve been super, super lucky in my career to get where I’m at with BK Racing and the opportunity they’re giving me,” LaJoie told NASCAR.com. “I would have never thought I’d make it this far. I’m one of the lucky few that is actually getting an opportunity in NASCAR, especially to be carrying a Davey Allison scheme at Darlington for the Southern 500. It’s like, pinch me a little bit, because it’s crazy.”

Over the span of 191 races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Allison earned 19 victories from 1985 through July 1993.

On July 13, 1993, Allison’s rapid success in NASCAR was cut short after he died from head injuries suffered in a helicopter crash while attempting to land in the Talladega Superspeedway infield.

What makes this paint scheme even more special for LaJoie is how much he has in common with Davey Allison. LaJoie forged his path by working for his father, two-time NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Randy LaJoie, at The Joie of Seating, which builds high performance aluminum seats for drivers.

Similarly, Bobby Allison wouldn’t let his son, Davey, drive a race car until he had graduated from high school and worked in the shop on his father’s car.

Two different father-son duos. Same old-school work ethic.

“That’s how I grew up,” LaJoie said. “You were in the shop building your car. If the car wasn’t ready, it was your own fault that you weren’t at the track that week.”

After racing the BK Racing No. 83 Toyota Camry for his first 14 races of the 2017 season, LaJoie assumed the driver role for the No. 23 at Daytona in July.

“I’ve had a lot of ups-and-downs this year, but I’m getting better every week,” LaJoie said. “The team is building good cars every week. If we could put a whole race together, we could run fairly well.”

NASCAR’s Labor Day throwback weekend will serve as LaJoie’s first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Darlington.

“First time ever going around it, so it’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve,” LaJoie said. “It’s probably going to be like everywhere els — I’ll figure it out a quarter of the way through the race and then try to make up that at the end of the race.

“You try to prepare as much as you can by watching race tape and simulators, but nothing compares to doing it yourself,” LaJoie added. “It’s the Lady in Black, so she’ll beat you.”